by Staff writer
Donald Trump’s administration has been accused of homophobia after excluding the first gentleman of Luxembourg from a photo caption.
The White House sparked a backlash after sharing a picture of First Lady Melania Trump posing with other spouses of NATO leaders in Brussels this week.
But while the caption named each woman in the picture individually, it failed to acknowledge Gauthier Destenay, husband of Luxembourg’s prime minister Xavier Bettel.
The photo was shared on the White House’s official Facebook page on Saturday.
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| The leaders’ partners posed for photos to mark the NATO summit (Photo: AFP) |
In further embarrassment to the Trump administration, the picture is dated ‘Thursday May 25, 2917.’
The post attracted many angry comments from Facebook users who questioned why Mr Destenay, the only homosexual in the picture, had been excluded.
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| Gauthier Destenay with husband, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel |
Becca Krecek wrote: “Wow. No mention of the Luxembourg spouse? He still exists even if you try to ignore the fact he is a homosexual you dimwit.”
Jennifer Battle added: “So wonderful to see a first husband! So sad the White House is either too ignorant or too petty to actually name him. #stayclassy”
Nick Jackman commented: “The omission of the the First Gentleman of Luxembourg name is blatantly disrespectful and just goes to show the level of idiocy of this White House staff.”
Journalist Scott Bixby also called out the Trump administration on Twitter.
He tweeted: “Is there a reason the @WhiteHouse didn’t include the First Gentleman of Luxembourg in this photo caption?”
Aside from the White House’s shocking oversight, the picture was widely praised.
Mr Destenay and Mr Bettel, the only openly gay current world leader, have been in a relationship since 2010 and got engaged four years later.
They tied the knot in May 2015, five months after Luxembourg’s gay marriage law came into effect.
There have only been two previous world leaders who were openly gay – Iceland’s Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, who left office in 2013, and Belgium’s Elio Di Rupo, who left office in 2014.
